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The time of death reular and the resulting loss of blood and oxygen The victireens, wine, real coffee, and fresh fruit hipped creaestion estimated at five hours before death

The call had come in quickly Cicely Towers had been dead only ten h to work the neighborhood, had spotted the body and reported it The first cruiser had arrived three minutes later

Her killer had ain, it was easy to fade in a neighborhood like that, to slip into a car, a doorway, a club There would have been blood; the jugular gushed and sprayed But the rain would have been an asset, washing it from the murderer’s hands

She would have to cohborhood, ask questions that were unlikely to receive any sort of viable answers Still, bribes often worked where procedure or threats wouldn’t

She was studying the police photo of Cicely Toith her necklace of blood when her ’link beeped

“Dallas, Homicide”

A face flashed on her screen, young, bea, and sly “Lieutenant, what’s the word?”

Eve didn’t swear, though she wanted to Her opinion of reporters wasn’t terribly high, but C J Morse was on the lowest end of her scale “You don’t want to hear the word I’ve got for you, Morse”

His round face split with a sht to know Remember?”

“I’ve got nothing for you”

“Nothing? You wantthat Lieutenant Eve Dallas, the finest of New York’s finest, has coation of the murder of one of the city’s ures? I could do that, Dallas,” he said, clicking his tongue “I could, but it wouldn’t look good for you”

“And you figure that matters to er hovered over the disconnect “You figure wrong”

“Maybe not to you personally, but it would reflect on the depart lashes fluttered “On Cos to put you on as primary And there’s the backwash on Roarke”

Her finger twitched, then curled into her palm “Cicely Towers’s murder is a priority with the department, with Commander Whitney, and with me”

“I’ll quote you”